Global Jewish population nears pre-Holocaust levels, report says

The global Jewish population is nearing pre-Holocaust levels, according to a new report published by an independent Israeli think tank.

The Jewish People Policy Institute’s latest report indicates that the global Jewish population is 14.2m (as of early 2015). When other factors are considered (including one Jewish parent or self-identify as partially Jewish) the number stands at 16.5m – the size of the Jewish population on the eve of WW2.

According to a report in Ynetnews, the numbers fall under a halache criteria for individuals living in Israel and self-identification for those living in other countries. Other details included:

Two other sub-groups that could be included among the Jewish people are immigrants to Israel and descendents of Jews who are not considered Jews according to halacha law and are defined “irreligious” (350,000), and “partial Jews” who live mainly in the US – mostly descendents of mixed couples – who number at some half a million.

In the UK, the Jewish population steadily rose in 2011 to 263,346 (up from 259,927 in 2001). That figure puts Britain in sixth place behind Israel, the United States, France, Canada, and Latin America.